FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 17,
2007
NEWS CONTACT: BVTC Public Affairs,
401-724-2200
Woonsocket Resident Crowned “Dynamite Queen”
By: Denise Perreault
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Winner
Michelle Schiavo |
WOONSOCKET – The winner of the 2007
Great Dynamite Cook Off, sponsored by the Blackstone Valley Tourism
Council, was Michelle Schiavo, a 43-year-old mother of three from
Woonsocket who said she “just loves making dynamites.”
Schiavo, of 52 Roberts St., captured
the title and crown of “Queen of the Dynamites” at Saturday’s (Sept. 15,
2007) event at River Island Park where exactly 50 amateur and
professional cooks competed in a cook-off intended to find the best
dynamite sandwich recipe in the state.
Particularly popular in northern Rhode
Island and nearby Massachusetts, dynamites are a zesty concoction of
tomatoes, hamburger, peppers, onions and whatever else you want to put
in, all served up on a fresh torpedo roll.
Schiavo said she tweaked a family
recipe to come up with her own version of dynamites, which include red
pepper relish, American cheese for consistency and steak as well as
hamburger. “I just love making dynamites,” she said moments after she
was announced as the cook-off winner. “I learned from a family member
and I just started cooking them.”
In addition to the title “Queen of the
Dynamites,” Schiavo wins a $200 cash prize, the opportunity to ride in
an open car in the Autumnfest parade Oct. 9 in Woonsocket, and her
dynamite sauce will be bottled and sold in supermarkets in Rhode Island.
Sale of the sauce will benefit the non-profit Blackstone Valley Tourism
Council, based in Pawtucket.
She and the other winners will be
guests on “Jen’s Dish,” a one-hour talk show focusing on food and hosted
by Jen Huntley-Corbin, on Wednesday, Sept. 19, at 9 a.m., on
Woonsocket-based radio station WNRI 1380 on the AM dial.
Other winners were: second place,
Ghislaine “Gigi” Therien, 12 Joyce Anne Drive in the Manville section of
Lincoln; third place, Lynne Leroux and Michelle Marcotte, of The
Friendly Home, 303 Rhodes Ave., Woonsocket. Leroux and Marcotte also
took the crown for “People’s Choice,” chosen in a popular vote by the
200 or so spectators at the event. Leroux and Marcotte won “by a
landslide,” organizers said.
Other finalists were: Claire Achilles,
Brenda Britt, John Croteau, Diane E. Frenette of The Castle
Luncheonette, 420 Social St., Bob Marceau, all of Woonsocket, and Kerry
McGee of Slatersville in North Smithfield.
Judging the event were: State Sen. Marc
Cote of Woonsocket; GianCarlo Iannuccilli, of GianCarlo’s Ristorante in
Woonsocket; Larry Lovejoy, of Vintage restaurant in Woonsocket; local
entertainer Noel Pincince; Ron St. Pierre, host of WPRO radio talk show;
Sue Tessier-McKenzie, of The Call in Woonsocket; and Tom Ward, publisher
of The Valley Breeze.
Sponsors besides the tourism council
were: Narragansett Beer, Northern Rhode Island Council for the Arts,
Jen’s Dish, Calise Bakery, Li’l General Stores, The Woonsocket Call,
City of Woonsocket, Lions Club of Woonsocket, Government of Canada,
Blackstone River Valley National Corridor Commission.
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Blackstone Valley Visitor
Center, On the banks of the Blackstone, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02860